Festivals

Omaha loves beer. We have a LOT of beer festivals. Come visit sometime. I’m going to list these in order of size. The first two are our major fests, and everything under that are fun, but probably not what you'd want to plan a trip around. I'm giving Oktoberfest it's own section as we have quite a few of those.

Omaha Beer Week

There are so many events that happen this week, I'm not going to bother to try to list them all. http://www.omahabeerweek.com. We do it in February as it's either cold as hell or we're thankful it stopped being cold as hell. Either way, not much else going on.

Extreme Brought To You By Beertopia

The biggest beer fest in Nebraska. Generally in February this indoor festival features only beers that are 7% ABV or greater. This obviously requires a pretzel necklace, so plan ahead and watch it when you give people hugs. I would also suggest either riding the shuttle from the Crescent Moon, planning on cabbing/Lyft/Uber it, or getting a room at a hotel next door or nearby.

The Great Nebraska Beer Fest

Put on by Nebraska Brewing Company and generally in late August, this outdoor festival is famous for having many breweries represented that simply do not distribute in Nebraska or Iowa. This makes it a must-attend event for beer lovers in town.

Benson Beer Fest

Feels more like a block party than most festivals. Always a good time.

Omaha Beer Fest

The date of this outdoor fest tends to change year to year. Usually has a bunch of unrelated stuff like insurance companies and people selling tchotchkes. Personally this is the one I skip.

Beer & Bacon Fest

Beer. Bacon. Only attended once by helping a friend work the Deschutes tent. We sold a lot of Fresh Squeezed that day. Still was a good time and I had some good food as well.

Mardi Gras

Held in the Crescent Moon, a scaffolding is erected and all the tables are removed. Beads and beer flow all night long. Don’t be a creep, leave your cameras at home. A limited menu is available for food.

Bockfest

This outdoor event is held behind the Huber Haus. Generally it’s going to be around 32 degrees, so dress warm. It’s nice to hang around the fire drinking Bocks with other hardcore beer drinkers. Remember once you are about half done with your beer to get it poked with the hot iron from the fire. This will caramelize the sugars in the Bock and give a different flavor to it. Bring your stein if you have one! If you get too cold, head inside and warm up for a bit and get something to eat.

Nebraska Brewers Carnival

Formerly the Nebraska Brewers BBQ. It's summer. All of the Nebraska Breweries are present. Live Polka music, because why not. What's not to love?

Holiday/Winter Beerfest

Held in Crescent Moon. Nothing really special about this one either. Still a good time.